General Motors has quit working with a partnership that collects toxic parts from scrapped automobiles, jeopardizing an effort to prevent mercury pollution just as hundreds of thousands of clunkers are headed to recyclers.

Some auto dealers are running short of new cars even as the Senate is poised to join the House in adding $2 billion to the government's cash-for-clunkers program, which could sell another 500,000 vehicles.

David Hersrud's small Chevrolet dealership in Sturgis, S.D., had shriveled so much from lack of customers this year that he was considering selling some of his inventory to other dealers at wholesale. Then the federal cash-for-clunkers program kicked in July 24, and Hersrud did a month's worth of business in just six days last week.

The hunger for new revenue during the economic downturn has the NBA and NHL entertaining the once-taboo prospect of corporate sponsorships for game uniforms. Beginning this season the NBA will let teams sell ads on their practice jerseys, says deputy commissioner Adam Silver, who adds the league is continuing to explore the issue of ads on game jerseys.

Even in a year plagued with financial difficulties, domestic carmakers surpassed the industry in quality gains, J.D. Power & Associates said Monday. J.D. Power and Associates on Monday released its annual survey of initial quality for 2009 model year vehicles, based on questionnaires from more than 80,900 new-vehicle owners.